Free The Scioneer by Peter Bouvier Page B

like some
phantom in a tracksuit, saying you’ve stolen from them, that you’re
on the run and… and… look at my fucking door!’
    Lek
wasn’t listening anymore; he was talking to himself instead, ‘But how did he find me?
How did he find me?’ He turned to Crystal. ‘This wasn’t the same
guy who called you, was it?’
    ‘No . The guy on
the phone had a thicker accent.’
    ‘I’m
guessing that was probably Vidmar. But then how did Delić know I
was here?’
    Realis ation
dawned. He pulled out the two bundles of creds from the pockets of
his sports suit – the C10,000 he kept back from the stash waiting
for him in the Smarte Storage Locker at Victoria Station – and
fanned though them. Sure enough, in the second bundle, he found
another strip of clear plastic.
    ‘What is that?’ asked
Crystal.
    ‘It’s
another bug. A tracking device. That’s how he followed me here.
They planted two bugs in the money, not one. Smart move. I’ve
already dumped the first.’ Lek nodded with grudging new-found
respect for Pechev. ‘And if this guy found me, then you can
guarantee he isn’t the only one looking.’
    He
hande d the plastic strip
to Crystal, who took a moment to inspect it, before taking a
cigarette lighter from her pocket.
    ‘No,
don’t do that….’ Lek stared into middle distance, calculating
something in his head. ‘Help me move the body out of
sight.’
    Together
they shouldered Delić into the bedroom and left him sleeping like a
baby.
    ‘What now?’
    ‘Like I
said, we pay Danny Calabas a visit.’
    Crystal looked
perplexed but Lek continued, ‘We’ll take your car. I can’t keep
wandering the streets while they’re searching for me. I’m playing
right into their hands.’
    ‘My car’s in
the garage – the biorg died a couple of weeks ago, and I haven’t
got the money to get it fixed. Where’s your car anyway?’
    ‘Parked
outside my flat. No way I can just walk back and pick it up.
They’re bound to be expecting me to turn up there sooner or later…
Ok, so we go to the garage first, then Calabas’ place.’
    ‘Han g on a
minute. It’s you they’re after, not me. I could just let you walk
out the door. Give me one good reason why I should come with
you?’
    ‘I’ll
give you three,’ said Lek. ‘First, whether you like it or not,
you’re tied up in this now. I’m sorry about that, you can blame me,
but that’s just the way it is. If they even suspect you of helping
me escape, they’ll kill you.’
    ‘Go on…’ said
Crystal, unmoved.
    ‘Second,
do you really want to be here when sleeping beauty wakes up? I
don’t think so.’
    ‘Fair enough.
What’s the third?’
    ‘I love
you. I’m escaping from this hell and I don’t want to leave you
behind. Ever again.’

Chapter
12
    Cesar
Pitres hadn’t been able to concentrate when he sat with Janine and
worked though the month’s payroll. He called the meeting to an
early end, complaining of a headache, and retreated to the comfort
of his private bathroom. He pulled a fresh hypo out of his gym bag,
clipped a scion into the chamber and eased the needle into the
thick muscles at the base of his neck. If the drugs had any effect
these days, it was only a placebo , but he welcomed the sensation all the same. He
closed his eyes, hoping for some release from the morning’s events,
but in his mind he only saw his old friend’s troubled face and
heard his pleas for help. It was useless. Perhaps a spell in the
gym would ease the tension...
    Cesar
worked the weights for a full hour, lifting double his bodyweight
on the bench-press, before taking out his repressed anger on the
heavy bag for thirty minutes. By the time he had finished, the
hundred pound bag showed a dent the size of a bin lid, but Cesar
had hardly broken a sweat. He stared at his reflection in the full
length mirrors covering the wall. On the surface, he looked like an
ogre plucked straight from the pages of a book of fairy tales, but
beneath it all, Cesar knew he